The following is an article by forum member Ben Lee, as posted on his blog – http://benleewontsing.blogspot.com and is re published with his permission.
First of all, I love my job. Getting the opportunity to take photos of my good friends in an environment that very few are lucky enough to witness could be called payment in itself………
Unfortunately this form of payment doesn’t help with providing food to eat, gear upgrades, mobile phones, petrol and maintenance of the automobile and internet bandwidth for sending off files and following weather. This isn’t even taking into account the time spent learning the skill, hours working and the dangerous situations every surf photographer faces at some stage. I don’t want to put negative spin on this at the moment; I take photos because I absolutely love it. I enjoy seeing my good friends getting the exposure they well and truly deserve.
I was lucky enough to grow up in a time before the digital onslaught, when every man and dog didn’t possess a camera that could shoot 8 frames a second, a good autofocus system, USB cord and a email address. In these days my biggest influences such a Phil Gallagher, Tim Jones and others were able to make a living from it. These guys had a system, it may not have been perfect, but it worked. This resulted in us being lucky enough to witness a abundance of amazing images from a variety of different countries. This inspiration is what led me into the industry.
Today there are still photographers battling away trying to make a living. Unfortunately the industry of today is very different. We as photographers and aspiring photographers are lucky enough to have three beautiful bodyboarding magazines in Le Boogie, Movement and Riptide to exhibit our most prized recent work. But the magazines are not where the heart of the problem lies. Because magazines have there own set rates, there is order and control throughout the selection and editing process of the submitted work,. The bulk of income for a Surf/ Bodyboard photographer has always come from advertising work. We as experienced photographers try to keep a set of universal rates to base any quote to a client from. Without these rates then we start seeing full page and double page adverts getting sold for $200 or a board and pair of fins. I highly doubt Mr Gallagher’s wife would be too impressed if he came home and lumped a brand new bodyboard on the table for dinner that night!
The purpose of this article is to educate. If you’re a young photographer and a worldwide company approaches you and offers you a free board in exchange for your hard work, say NO! The temptation will always be there to say yes; exposure, seeing your work in print, future contacts etc etc ect, whatever you want to tell yourself. I can guarantee that before the said company has approached you, they would have approached a more experience photographer with the same offer that was most likely laughed at and turned down. But just be warned, if decide you sell a photo to one of these companies for a free bodyboard or some form of clothing, the next time around they will offer you even less. If you do accept the offer put forward, please know that as a consequence of your actions the guys you have sought inspiration from in the past have been bent over and screwed as a result of your deal.
Ive had a lot of frustrating and hard times in my few years spent in this industry, but probably my most gutting one happened today, ill try to explain the best I can without naming names. I am fortunate enough to have a good friend that is rapidly climbing the ranks to the elite group of Australia’s Bodyboarders. Over the past few years he has shown amazing persistence and hard work ethic to chase his dream. I’ve been spending the same amount of time and countless dollars following him overseas and roaming the countryside. The past week has seen me negotiating with his major sponsor for a new double page advert in future magazines. I was offered the usual product in exchange for use of the image and politely declined, all the while keeping up negotiation with the client. Today I received news that a said friend received the same offer of a free bodyboard and jumped at the deal. This person is the perfect example of what is wrong in the Bodyboarding today. Not only have I lost out on all the hard work from the previous few months, the rider is also let down by receiving a advert that does not truly reflect the hard work and commitment he has put in. In this case there are no excuses, the said person has been floating around in this industry for the past few years, just not very successfully.
If ANY young photographer out there wants to know more about the industry or would like a copy of rates to base their own off, please get in contact with me. I’m always happy to lend a hand.
You speak the truth my friend. The sad reality is on matter how many of the more experienced photogs out there try and educate we cant keep track of every email, phone conversation etc going around. Ive noticed recently even the simple act of crediting the photographer who shot an advertising image is missing? Could this be the request of one of these little undercutters so we cant track him down and shame him? All i can add to this is please keep standing firm for what you know is right. There is a saying used often in this industry, if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Unfortunately the monkeys have it really easy now with digital photography and the learning curve is pretty much non existent.
I hate monkeys!
Pues la verdad es que leí el post y es lo que venía pensando desde hace tiempo porque soy bodyboarder desde pequeño pero también di el salto a la cámara y con la suerte de tener publicación en la revista movement la cual me pidió mi numero internacional de cuenta y dirección ya que soy de Canarias pero ni me llegó el ejemplar y ni un € en la cuenta, después a la hora de saber como y cuanto cobrarle a las revistas con las que he colaborado gratuitamente de momento ya que estoy siendo conocido pero no tengo una larga carrera fotográfica pues no se cuanto se suele cobrar incluso a la gente de la playa que me pregunta. Entonces sino es mucha molestia me gustaría saber que precios podría poner en dichos casos.
Te agradezco el post y muchas gracias de antemano porque creo que mucha gente que se lo curra como yo estamos en la misma situación,
Un abrazo
Yeh Lee, love your opinion, as always mate!
We can only try….. On the upside, ive received roughly 30 emails off young photogs in the past 24 hours. I may be flogging a dead horse, but you have to try?
Ben
Ben your right but i think its a bit unfair calling someone out by giving enough information to let us all realise who it is in the end.
I think you are also blind to what goes on in the industry with some of the names you have mentioned, ie mr jones who bombarded the industry with almost every ad a few years ago and why do you think that was ? the answer is he was selling 1 year buyouts for $500 yes 500!
Everyone on this forum and in the surf photography industy (well 95%) have sold out in someway, I have and I know a lot of other people who I looked upto in the industry have.
“the said person has been floating around in this industry for the past few years, just not very successfully.” This quote is also unfair as since everything become digital there has not been many successful photographers and that includes you.
Angry and old.
1.You Should first of all write your name.
2. I know all the stories about Jonesy. I mentioned him as being a influence as a 15 year old kid, not as a business influence now.
3. I gave nowhere near the kind of information required to work out who it is. I could have been alot more blunt. If you think you know who it is from that article alone then your obviously kidding yourself !!!
You should have to sign in to comment. Real names are a must.
My thoughts are well documented and debated, However I honestly feel that if all the contributing photogs, simply stopped sending images off untill you get what you deserve money wise, paid in an acceptable time frame, nothing will change.
Until you change what you do nothing will change, unity is where it is at. Do you think an advert will be run from some 16 year old kid with a slightly OOF heavily cropped file shot Jpeg and edited heavily?? No chance. Hit them where it hurts in the image pocket.
No images=No mags quite simple really.
Why would you bust your ass spending countless hours shooting to get paid next to nothing? You can make that doing nothing or surfing yourself?
But the problem is that you’ll always get a handull of photogs who’ll sell for anything. Surf photography is a dead horse, I stopped flogging it(the horse that is)10 years ago.
Hey Ben very well written it would be great to see every one stick together but I am not sure that is going to happen, I have been lucky enough to be educated on the business side of things by the Regnard’s who go out of there way in helping crew out and in return I have done the same but only the other day a photographer who has received my rates by request in the past sold a shot to Rip Curl (search advertisement 2yr usage) for four wetsuits, WOW WEE! Photographers are not going to stick together just look at some past articles through out the forum and check out the replies its laughable.